


Reaction

by Dragonessa007



Series: Destiny One-Shots [1]
Category: Destiny (Video Games)
Genre: Cayde-6 x Female Guardian, Cayde-6 x OC, F/M, I got bit by the writing bug and this happened, apparently staying up too late makes you write sad stories
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-08-30
Updated: 2018-08-30
Packaged: 2019-07-04 10:17:10
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,331
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15839208
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Dragonessa007/pseuds/Dragonessa007
Summary: How does one react to the death of someone you love? Kaia learns the answer on that fateful mission with Cayde-6 to the Prison of Elders.





	Reaction

**Author's Note:**

> A one-shot I originally posted to r/DestinyTheGame under my username 'Sythra', I decided to post it up here as well for people who cannot access Reddit to read it. Please enjoy!

The Prison of Elders was in _ruins_.

Something or someone decided to throw a prison break...

At least that’s what Cayde had tried to warn Kaia about before comms suddenly went out. She called out for him repeatedly, fear quickly entering her voice as she heard roars and screeching amidst the static. She listened for his voice, tried to follow it...

“Kai — zht - Prison of El-elders — Barons! Shit! A little h-help!?”

She bolted as fast as her feet would carry her, following his broken signal until she reached the entrance to the Prison. The place looked as if it had seen better days... the scent of burning flesh and burnt metal filled her nose as she pressed forward, and her ghost, little Shadow flickered uncertainly.

“ **Cayde’s signal is weak... I can’t pinpoint his exact location**.” Shadow spoke up softly, mechanical voice worried.

Kaia’s gaze darted about, pale blue eyes filled with worry as she pressed onward. She replayed the transmission again, as if Cayde’s voice could soothe her a little bit. It always did...

The deeper into the Prison she traveled, the more destruction became visible. Cell doors were torn off hinges, dead bodies of guards and prisoners alike were scattered about. The lingering scent of blood and gunfire... Kaia knew a battlefield when she saw one. The walls were dented and cracked, as if something had been slammed against them repeatedly. This wasn’t good...

“Shadow, do another scan, hurry!” Kaia crouched to maneuver around a broken wall, passing through a crumbling gap in the structure.

Shadow flitted about, light blinking as it scanned the area. “ **I’m picking up a faint signal. Cayde isn’t far. Strange though... I can’t locate his ghost.** ”

“What do you mean you can’t find his ghost?!” Kaia exclaimed. There could only be one reason why a ghost wouldn’t show on scans and for a brief moment her chest tightened, a pang of uncertainty filling her.

“No no no...!” Kaia was already panicking, fearing the worst. She moved quicker, haste causing her to swear as her cloak or armor would catch on protruding metal or she’d lose her way. It seemed to be taking forever to find her way through this damned place. Every so often she’d stop and slam a fist against the nearest wall in frustration.

“ **Kaia please. Slow down!** ” Shadow spoke up, “ **Try to focus! This is a dangerous area!** ”

“Of _course_ it’s dangerous! I told Cayde not to run in there alone! I told him to wait.. I...!”

Kaia’s words caught in her throat as they made it to where the signal finally led them. Whatever had been occupying the cells was long gone, but left in their wake...

“ _CAYDE!_ ”

Kaia ran to him, he was collapsed upon the ground, faceplates dented and armor ripped open in places. Cuts and scratches covered him from head to toes. He went down fighting, Traveler above what did this to him...? Then her gaze turned to his Ghost. The tiny follower was shattered into pieces, metal bits scattered about the room. She picked one up with shaking fingers only to drop it with a sharp clatter and a tense gasp. It echoed upon the steel floor...

Carefully she touched his chest, cupped his cheek. He wasn’t moving, his body was cold... she remembered how the center of his chest used to warm and whirr when he would hold her close, the equivalent of a heartbeat. No sound came from it now, even as she leaned in to try and hear something, anything to prove he was still here somehow.

His hand was outstretched, broken fingers reaching desperately for... Ace of Spades. His hand cannon, was gone. Whoever had shot him had taken it.

“ _Cayde...?_ ” She murmured, and tears began to sting her eyes, rolling down her cheeks as the realization finally struck. He was gone. Cayde-6, her best friend, her mentor.., her beloved, was dead. Her grasp tightened on his chest, fingers digging into the leather of his cloak as she buried herself against him. Her cries were silent agony, so pained there was no sound, even as her entire body shook with grief.

“Kaia?” Shadow asked her guardian’s name. “Kaia we can’t stay here.”

“ _No...,_ ”

“No?” Shadow was confused.

“I’m _not_ leaving him. I _can’t_ leave him here!” Kaia cried out, still clinging. She refused to let go of him, even as Shadow nudged her hands away, trying to make her guardian see sense. Kaia smacked her ghost aside and Shadow gasped, as if hurt.

“ **Kaia we have to leave! He’s gone! There’s nothing we can do. If we stay any longer - !** ” Shadow’s voice cut off as she was flung aside by Kaia’s palm.

“We’re bringing him back. We’re taking him home.” Kaia trembled.

“ **And how are we going to do that...?** ”

“... call Zavala.” Was all Kaia said in response.

Shadow blinked a couple times. Kaia never saw eye to eye with the Titan vanguard even at the best of times. But this... reluctantly she opened a comm relay to the Vanguard.

“What is going on? Guardian, where is Cayde? What is...?” Zavala’s voice trailed off as he received the video feed from Kaia’s ghost. She was on the ground and cradling a body in her arms. Cayde’s body.

“What happened?” He asked, sympathy evident in his tone.

“ **The Barons. Someone... someone broke them out of the Prison of Elders. They... they killed Cayde**.” Shadow spoke, knowing that Kaia didn’t have the ability to. The guardian was mute, carefully holding Cayde close to her chest. It was an odd reversal of the times when Cayde would hold her, and reassure her that things would be okay, that they’d live to fight on.

But there was no moving on from this. Kaia sighed, her head bowed out of frame of the video feed. She spoke softly, the words barely picked up as Zavala watched.

“ _A lonesome star, in a bitter sky...,_ ”

She was singing.

The song was soft, an old Golden Age tune, one of those ‘old country’ songs that Cayde was fond of. Her voice was wet, a slight cough as the words kept catching in her throat.

“ _I hear the hungry ghosts, calling out in the night. Just a couple victims of this brutal reprise...,_ ”

Zavala listened, unmoving and silent. He knew how close Kaia had been to Cayde, and though he had frowned upon their relationship, he couldn’t deny the pain she was feeling, the ache in her heart. He was all too familiar with loss.

“ _Am I strong enough to let things just...,_ ” The last word wouldn’t come, she couldn’t bring herself to say it...

“ _I fight, and I fight... just to keep the spark alive..,_ ”

Her voice once more filled with anguish, a desperate plea for her beloved. She wished he would wake up, that somehow he would reboot... But there was no spark left in him. His body was silent in her arms, circuits dead and broken.

“ _But if there’s nothing on the other side... why can’t I leave well enough alone...,_ ”

Tears fell down her cheeks, dripping down into Cayde’s faceplates. The droplets splashed onto the broken metal, running down the chipped and scraped teal paint.

“ _And go to the light...,_ ”

As the song ended, Zavala sighed. “Guardian... let’s get you both home. I’m sending you coordinates to a transmat zone.” There was a tiredness to his tone, a pain that equaled her own. Cayde was just as much his friend as her own. The pain of his loss was mutual.

With that the comm clicked off. Kaia was left in silence, except for Shadow’s occasional beeping. The darkness of the Prison surrounded them, until they re-emerged in the light. Gazing up at the sky, the dimly lit stars...

The transmat zone was activated, light engulfing them for several long moments. Her eyes closed, and when they opened again she was back in the Tower.

They were home.

A home that felt more empty than ever without him here.


End file.
